Ball toys provide a means for enjoyment and exercise for pets such as dogs and owners alike. However, after a pet's extended play with a ball, the ball may be soaked with saliva. Understandably, the pet owner is not enthused over having to retrieve and carry about a saliva-soaked ball. Pet owners, accordingly, will prefer a ball toy which features a strap or handle attached to the ball. The strap provides greater leverage for throwing the ball, and further allows the owner to reclaim and hold the ball toy without having to contact the wet ball.
The ball toy may also be used as a child's toy, with the strap providing a convenient carrying handle and allowing the child to throw the ball further than the child would be able to unassisted.
However, pets have strong jaws and an instinct to pull upon and chew their toys, and children often alter accessible parts of toys while investigating them. A common problem with ball toys having handles arises when the handle is not sufficiently well secured to the ball and is pulled apart from the ball toy. For example, where a strap is attached to a ball by fixing one end of the strap within the ball, the strap will be pulled out of the ball if either of two common phenomena occur: if the means used to hold the strap end inside the ball deteriorates (e.g., a knot comes undone), or if the hole through which the strap end is inserted into the ball is enlarged by movement of the strap in relation to the ball.
The present invention has been developed to provide a ball toy having a sturdy handle suitable for carrying and throwing the ball toy which will remain fixed to the ball toy even when considerable force is used to pull the handle away from the ball toy.
An object of the present invention is to provide a ball toy having a looped handle entering and exiting the ball through different openings at least once.
A further object of the present invention is to position the joinder point of the looped handle within the interior of the ball so that pets will not chew upon the joinder point and damage the handle.
Another object of the present invention is to identify a method for making the inventive ball toy.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when the ball toy of the present invention is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, specification, and claims.